KALAMAZOO, MI
– A Kalamazoo man who fired a gun amid a crowd gathered near Western Michigan
University will stay out of jail if he completes his education and stays out of
trouble.

Patrick
Clayton Russell Jr., 20, was sentenced Monday to 94 days in jail, two years of
probation, court costs and state fees for assaulting/resisting/obstructing a
police officer during the Sept. 4 incident.

The
jail term is to begin Dec. 1, 2013, but will be suspended if Russell completes
his general-education degree and pays off his court costs and state fees before
that date.

The Kalamazoo County Courthouse on Michigan Avenue in downtown Kalamazoo.MLive file

"I
understand what I did was wrong, even in picking up the gun," Russell told
Giguere before being sentenced. "I felt like I had to protect my family."

Police
said Russell was among the crowd of about 200 people in a parking lot in the
2800 block of West Michigan Avenue when an officer saw him raise a handgun and
fire three shots into the air. Russell then ran from police.

"You
have one year to do what you need to do," Giguere told Russell.

"You
control the keys to the jail cell. You don't want to wait until November to get
started on this," the judge said, noting that Russell has eight prior misdemeanors and juvenile record.

Giguere
also ordered Russell to pay a $100 fine and state fees for a misdemeanor charge of
reckless use of a firearm.

A
second count of assaulting/resisting/obstructing a police officer, which
carries a maximum prison term of two years, was dismissed by the judge, as was a
90-day misdemeanor charge of brandishing a firearm in public.